1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a shielded connector, to a mating shielded connector connectable therewith and to a shielded connector assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known shielded connector has terminal fittings accommodated in a housing made of a synthetic resin. The connector further includes a tubular metallic shielding shell assembled into the housing to absorb noise from the terminal fittings and to prevent leakage of noise to the outside of the housing.
The housing of one known shielding connector has a terminal accommodating portion surrounded by a tubular fitting. The outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion and the inner peripheral surface of the tubular fitting are coupled by a coupling rib, and a fitting space is defined between the terminal accommodating portion and the tubular fitting portion for accommodating a shielding shell. The shielding shell is formed with a slit that receives the coupling rib as the shielding shell is inserted into the fitting space.
The above-described shielded connector is used with a mating shielded connector as a mating partner of this shielded connector that has terminal fittings accommodated in a housing. Outer surfaces of the housing and a receptacle formed on the housing are surrounded by a shielding shell. The receptacle is fit into the fitting space when the housing and the mating housing are connected to bring both shielding shells into contact so that the peripheral surfaces of the shielding shells overlap.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-319458 discloses a shielded connector with many of the features described above.
Most connector assemblies have a projection formed on the outer peripheral surface of one connector and a groove formed in a fitting space of the other connector. The projection and the groove prevent the connectors from being connected erroneously in an inverted orientation.
The above-described erroneous connection preventing means could be applied to shielded connectors. However, the shielding shell would have to be formed with a notch for avoiding interference with the projection in addition to the slit for avoiding the interference with the coupling rib. The slit and the notch can be paths for leaking noise to the outside of the shielding shells. Thus, a shielding function of the shielding shells may be reduced.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem, and an object thereof is to suppress a reduction in a shielding function.